What Should Breastfeeding Moms Eat?
Breastfeeding and being a new mom is a lot of work – your body is healing, you’re hardly sleeping and, now, you’re responsible for an infant. And as mom is passing on highly nutritious and calorie-dense food to her baby, she too needs to make sure that she is adequately fuelled. Here are the best foods for breast-feeding moms to include in their diet.
- Eat more protein
Breast milk contains high levels of protein to help your baby grow and it’s important that during breastfeeding, that moms increase their level of protein intake. It’s advised to have healthy protein at each meal. Include oats or eggs at breakfast, add in lean meats and oily fish (trout, salmon, mackerel) and plant-based protein such as legumes and beans. - Eat more
You may need to include an additional 300 to 500 calories in your diet while breastfeeding. It’s important to consult your doctor about this as each body is different. - Up your vitamins and minerals
While breastfeeding it’s important to make sure that moms have adequate amounts of vitamin A (sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens, eggs), D (mushrooms, eggs, oily fish) and E (avocado, broccoli, peppers, almonds) and well as B12 (shellfish, liver, yogurt, oily fish, nutritional yeast, eggs) selenium (brazil nuts, seafood, whole grains and seeds) and zinc (oysters, red meat, poultry, beans, nuts, dairy). Consult with a dietician to make sure that your eating plan contains all the necessary nutrients or alternatively the appropriate supplements, as discussed with your doctor. - Drink more water
When breastfeeding you may feel thirstier. Remember that “mature” breast milk (click here to read about the different breast-milk stages) contains 90% water, so it’s important that new moms stay well hydrated.
For a tailor-made diet plan that suits your lifestyle and requirements, consult with a dietician or your medical doctor.